The economy is bad and consumers are holding onto the cash that they would normally be spending on items like computers and cameras. The poor economy has been the main reason that companies like Circuit City, KB Toys, and other major retailers have gone out of business in America.

Recently the nationwide Ritz Camera chain announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has now announced that it will be closing over 300 of its stores around the country. The camera chain has about 400 stores that will remain open around the country.

Circuit City has given up after a long time of posting losses and being unable to compete in the retail electronics market with competitors like Best Buy. The company has been slowly going under for a while now and things accelerated last year when the firm announced store closings around the country.

This week Circuit City announced that rather than selective store closings, it was closing all of its stores nationwide. That announcement means that there are some good deals on closeout products to be had and probably left many consumers who had bought gear at Circuit City and paid for extended warranties wondering about their purchases.

The economy is weak as we all know and when the economy is weak sales of certain items tend to drop. The car industry is hurting as is the home industry. Consumer electronics are still predicted to grow, but despite that, Circuit City has found itself in a world of trouble.

Circuit City stock prices were so low that the only way to try to save the company was to announce the closing of 154 stores in the U.S. to help get the company back into the black. The closing of stores is bad news for employees and shareholders, but it is good news for consumers looking for good deals.

We’ve been hearing from a couple of sources that on Monday, Circuit City will be closing a whopping 155 stores and leaving the consumer electronics business for good. Most store closings are expected to be done by December 31, 2008. A full list of stores will apparently be revealed in the next few days. Not entirely unexpected, but still sad for those CC employees losing a job during the holiday season.

The company most known for their instant film cameras and the instant film that went with them is closing it’s last film plants in Mass., a victim of the digital age. The fun instant Polaroids will soon be a thing of the past. To the horror of those who love all things retro, no more instant film will be produced.

Within the past two years, Polaroid had already stopped production on the instant cameras. The film will be available until around next year, so those who want or need more can still get it. It was only a matter of time before the 21st century caught up with Polaroid’s format. In the not too distant future, the only people interested in buying the film will be Hollywood production designers wanting to use it for authenticity in movies etc. Well, they had a good run, and captured many an embarrassing moment, the occasional ghost and various assorted naughty things. It’s been fun.